Stand in the Rain
by Alice Rivaeni
Summary: Follow Alice May—Just Alice, that is—as she strives to rescue her sister, Rainy, from the evil whitecoats, before it's too late. On the way, she meets fellow "freaks"—Maximum Ride, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. Can Alice find Rainy in time?
1. Taken

**( Author's Note: I try to stick to the original characters, and I try to make up events as I go. I'm only on the second book so far**—**yes, I realize that I shouldn't be writing a fanfic about it, then, but I really wanted to. (: T****his is also my first fanfic, so please R&R. So, basically, Fax never happened, they stayed purely siblings... Yes, I know, I know. I liked them too, but I wanted to import a character to fit into that role instead.** **Thus, Alice was born. I know, it's a cruel thing to do to someone, make them a "bird freak", but Alice starts to enjoy it. Oops, I've already said too much... I hope you enjoy. :D ) **

"Alice May.." I barely resisted the urge to say "Just five more minutes". I slowly began to wake up. "Alice May, wake up. You need to wake up." It was coming from high above me. I realized who it was, and I heard the desperation in her small voice. My eyes snapped open and I leaped into the air, my huge black wings unfurling in one sudden, sweeping motion. I scanned our cave for the unknown threat, too on edge to be very angry with her for using my full name.

Seeing nothing within my immediate vision, I glanced at her, next to me, and had a terrible vision. In a few seconds, we would be _surrounded_ by Erasers. She quivered delicately, her white wings barely keeping her in the air. "Rainy, they're—" I was cut off by another horrible vision; if we didn't move _now_, they would catch my little sister. My sweet little Rainy… I saw I would get away, I _always_ got away. My catlike reflexes would never allow anything but that to happen.

Then Rainy screamed. It all happened so fast. One second, she was there, floating next to me, the next, she was gone. She just…disappeared. I instantly dropped down next to her—and was promptly surrounded by Erasers. I folded in my wings, and saw in my head that they didn't want me, they wanted Rainy, and they would leave me here. Not before beating the crap out of me, that is. I would try _not_ to let that happen.

I saw a large Eraser stuff Rainy in a bag, then again in real time. Doesn't this get annoying, you ask? Yes, it gets _really_ annoying. But, it's also extremely helpful, and I can usually control what I see.

Then, suddenly, the Eraser dropped dead to the ground, almost as if the life force had been sucked from him. Rainy scrambled her way out of the bag, and she did the same to the next two Erasers that tried to attack her. It broke my heart, seeing my little Rivaini kill those things…yes, even though they're trying to kill us. In my head, I saw an Eraser snatch up Rainy, then put a cloth to her mouth, and she fainted instantly. I cried out in despair. There was absolutely nothing I could do for her.

Another Eraser lunged toward me, and I could smell his fetid breath. I saw it all unfold in my head, and stepped out of his reach a fraction of a second before his clawed hands touched me. We continued this game for another minute, and other Erasers joined us.

Anger, desperation, and pure agony welled up inside me. Opening my eyes, I caught the first one off-guard by snapping a furious kick straight to his face. He gave a surprised yelp, then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell. I couldn't tell if he was dead or alive. A second Eraser lunged at me at the same time as another. I dodged the first, but couldn't avoid the other, and he crashed down on me, pinning me to the ground.

See, here's the thing with Erasers; they're genetically mutated, like us "bird freaks", but we're much, _much_ smaller and more agile. I'm a prime example for this, as I'm literally only like seventy pounds, even though I'm about five-eight. Most of this is from our birdlike bones, which were a lot thinner than human bones. But, a lot is also because Rainy and I are extremely malnourished. Those creeps at the School had failed to pack us food when we escaped—what? Five, maybe six years ago?—from the School. Of course, there was another, large flock that escaped about four years ago. I made a mental note to find them, as Rainy had always tried to get me to do. It shouldn't be too hard, I did an immense amount of research on them.

The Eraser on top of me cackled wickedly, then said, "This is way too easy…but I'm still going to enjoy ripping you apart, _freak_." I winced, even though I knew they weren't going to kill me. I was trying my hardest to get air to my lungs, but the giant Eraser on me was making that just a _bit_ difficult. Then, suddenly, I could breath again, like someone flipping a switch. One second, the Eraser had been on top of me, the next, he was gone. Then, I was yanked roughly into the air by my long black hair.

I stifled a scream, I wouldn't give them what they wanted. I was spun to face a wolflike creature, still held up by my hair. The Eraser grinned, opening his mouth to say something. Then his eyes went down to my chest, and he gawked. I looked down at my necklace, it was black lace with a black key attached to it. The key had a few red gems on it, and was very old-fashioned.

It was also the most important thing I had, now that they had taken Rainy. Of course, I didn't know what it opened, but I had a feeling it did open _something_. In my mind, I saw a brief chance to run—well, _fly_ actually—away, and I took it.

I saw that there were eight Erasers in all—one had Rainy's bag; three (possibly four) were dead; and three were facing me. Unluckily for them, Rainy's Eraser was looking for a way out, not paying attention to them, while they seemed to be—weirdly enough—in some sort of strange trance looking at my necklace.

I looked beyond them, to the Eraser that was on his was out of the cave, and saw he wasn't there anymore. He had probably run out, thinking the three in front of me could handle one little bird freak. Boy, was he wrong. My wings snapped back out, though the Erasers didn't notice. Man, _what were they staring at?_ I didn't wait to find out.

I looked into the future, and saw that as soon as I moved, the Erasers would snap out of their trances and go for my throat. Literally. So, I had to move fast. I once again glanced toward the cave entrance. It was about twenty feet away, and the only way out of our humble abode.

It was eerie, having the Erasers just standing there, staring. I wondered for a second if freezing people was one of my hidden talents, another special skill. So far, I knew only that I could see the future. And that wasn't because of the experiments the School had done to my sister and I, it was because I was _born_ seeing the future. I know, I know. Pretty weird, huh?

My sister, Rivaini, had two known powers; she could see the past and (as you've already seen) she can harm people with just a thought. It's a scary thing for a six year old to be able to do, even if it is really handy when fighting Erasers.

I took a deep breath. I had to be quick. Really quick. I closed my eyes—it was easier to watch the future this way—and focused just a few seconds into the future. In about three to five seconds I would muster all the muscle in my legs, and a half second later I would jump as far into the air as I could. The Erasers would snap out of whatever kind of trance they were in half a second after that.

I opened my eyes. That had all taken barely a second to flash through my mind. I counted in my head, _one, two, three…_

I launched myself into the air, and the lead Eraser tried in vain to hit me, followed by another. The last was smarter, he actually _jumped_ to grab my leg, digging his gross claws into my calf, and an immense agony filled my every thought. I gasped in pain, and my wings nearly lost their balance.

I glared down at the Eraser, kicking him in his face with all the might I could muster. I heard a satisfying crunch followed by a yelp, and I smiled with relief as the Eraser's claws pulled out from my leg. My smile was short-lived, however. First, they had my sweet little Rainy. Second, there was a searing pain in my right leg. Third, I could barely keep my thoughts straight, let alone _fly_ straight. And fourth, I was losing altitude. _Fast._

I had flown pretty far from our cave. It was overlooking a large canyon, and beyond that was an immense forest. I was really high above the forest now, and I knew I would soon be under the canopy of the trees. I was growing fainter, and I realized it was probably an infection from the Eraser's disgusting claws.

I flew another mile or so, and then it really started to hit me. I was going to hit the ground _hard_. And the Erasers would catch up, and they would bring me back to the school and…it would go to hell from there. Vaguely, I saw outlines of huge birds. Wait, they couldn't be birds, could they? They were too big, too awkward compared to other birds.

Great, now I was delirious. I silently cursed the Eraser, hoping beyond all hope I would get the chance to rip his face to shreds. I glanced down at my blood-soaked skinny jeans. Great, now _they_ were ruined, too. This day just kept getting better.

The birds were closer now, and I was dangerously close to the tips of the trees, maybe a few yards or so away. I beat my wings furiously, and gained a bit more altitude, but I was sure it was in vain. Where was I going to go? I mean, sure, I still had to find the other flock, and rescue Rainy, but I seriously needed to rest. Like, _now._

The birds were really close now, and I could tell they weren't just any birds. They were talking, they sounded nervous, and they were staring at me.

The last thought I had before blacking out and tumbling through the sky was a good one, a comforting one; I had found the flock.

I had found Maximum Ride.

It almost made me smile. Almost.


	2. Saved

Apparently, when you black out, you dream. Or, more precisely, have an out-of-body experience. At least, I did. Pretty weird, I know.

Sure enough, I was falling, though now it seemed more like a movie, with me as the star. I couldn't feel my body, or, really _anything, _for that matter. I could just watch myself drop helplessly.

I was pretty sure I was watching the future, but this time was way different. Unlike when I normally watched the future, I couldn't control what I saw this time. It was pretty scary. I mean, imagine watching yourself on a roller coaster, almost five hundred feet in the air, when suddenly you go flying off, and you know you'll hit the ground, but you can't _do a thing about it_.

Suddenly, a guy with black hair was barely a foot away from me, with a blonde girl right behind him. Sheesh. How had I missed _that_? I needed to pay more attention. They each grabbed one of my arms, and slowed my descent to a stop. I knew who they were. I also found it strange how I could _think_ but not do anything else.

Max cast Fang a meaningful look, and he nodded slightly, so slightly that I wondered if I had imagined it. He took me up into his arms and surged upwards. Max went the opposite way, her brown and white wings plummeting her down to the earth. It was surprising, how fast she flew.

I looked back to Fang. Would it be weird if I said that with his black hair, black eyes, and black clothing, he looked pretty hot? Yes? Well, that's too bad, it's already been said.

He glanced down at me, my leg, and a small frown marred his face. He looked back down to Max, and I did the same. We saw she was flying back up to us, and Fang quickly got within hearing range of the rest of the flock. "We have to land." he told them, then turned and dived down to the earth without awaiting an answer.

In barely three minutes, we were on the ground. Okay, well, _Fang_ was. Max motioned to Fang, and he brought me to a cave, where she was waiting. Huh, _another_ cave. I guess I didn't know these forests as well as I thought I did. The future wavered for a second as Fang decided whether or not to set me down. It was shocking — I'd never seen a vision do that before.

Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman — I didn't know why they called him that, nor did I _want_ to — and Angel landed in the cave as Fang set me down lightly.

"What am I missing?" Iggy asked irritably. The Gasman kept his eyes on my huge, crumpled gray-to-black wings, and said to Iggy, "It's a girl, but she's…" he looked at a loss for words — shocked to see another mutant, I was sure. Iggy sighed impatiently, muttering something about hating being blind.

"Ig," Max said, taking charge, "She's got wings, and she's hurt and unconscious." she led Iggy over to me as she spoke. Iggy nodded, then asked, "Where?"

She ripped apart the pant leg to my already-torn skinny jeans, placing Iggy's hovering hand just over the gruesome gash on my leg. His feather light fingers skimmed my leg, and he blew out a low whistle. "Max, this feels _really_ bad. You said she's unconscious? She might've lost too much blood, or an infection could be frying her brain."

Angel looked at Iggy, perplexed, and shook her head. Max leaned down to her, then asked, "What is it, sweetie?"

"Her brain isn't…fried…like Iggy said. She's thinking right now. Fang and Max exchanged glances, then he asked, "What is she thinking about?"

"Us." Angel said simply, and even their dog looked at her in confusion, so she explained, "I mean, she _knows_ us. It's weird, she can hear us, _see_ us even." That just confused them more. _How did she know what I was thinking?_ Oh, yeah. She could read minds. Duh, I remembered seeing that in her files at the School.

Yes, I had broken back into the School after I had escaped. More on that at a later time.

Angel looked up at Max innocently, "It's like a movie. She watches from the outside."

Max smiled at her, though I could tell she was still a bit tentative. "Do you know what her name is, Ange?"

"Alice." Angel replied, mimicking my thoughts, "She's starting to feel…confused.." She looked at me in alarm, then turned to Max and said, "I'm starting to lose her."

She was right. Everything was getting dimmer and quieter, and then soon everything was black. It was almost as if someone had slowly flipped a light switch that led to all of my senses. It was frightening. Now, not only could I not feel or move my body, but I couldn't see, hear, smell or talk. Yet, I could still think clearly, and I wondered if Angel could hear my thoughts, then.

Slowly, — it seemed like things were going so slowly just to piss me off — I began to lose consciousness, while also panicking.

The panicky side of my brain was asking question after question; Was I dying? What was happening to my poor Rainy? _Was she even still alive?_

The more rational side of my brain was digesting what happened. I decided to stick with this one. The big question was this; How had a single wound from an Eraser's claw have done _so _much damage to me? Were the crazy scientists at the School experimenting now with the Erasers' natural weapons; Injecting some sort of poison that was deadly to us bird kids?

My mind was spinning with questions, so I was pretty surprised when I finally lost full consciousness, no thought passing through my brain whatsoever.

**( Author's Note: Kind of short, I know, but if I would've merged chapters two and three, it would've been super long. So I stuck with two separate ones. (: Let me know what you think, R&R, Thanks :D )**


	3. Awake

**( Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long to write up, I was working on another of my fanfics** **— I know, not very smart. Well, I hope you enjoy, R&R please :D )**

For the millionth time that morning, Fang glanced down at her still form. Angel had said she heard her mind, and her name was Alice. That was about a day ago, and still Alice hadn't woken up. Fang sighed almost inaudibly, leaning his head on the cave wall, wondering what on earth the Erasers had done to her.

"We all want to know," Angel said, coming to sit next to him on the cold stone ground. "But, we won't know till she wakes up. Which, should be soon." she added, and smiled. Fang nodded slightly, knowing better than to question her claims.

"When is Max getting back?" Nudge asked, the shortest sentence Fang had ever heard her utter. He was about to answer her when a voice said from the cave's entrance said, "Already am."

Max shook the rainwater out of her wings, then tucked them in, Gazzy and Iggy doing the same. She walked forward to where Alice was still lying, her breathing even. Max frowned, "We didn't find any Erasers, I think they all left. I hope she wakes up soon."

Nudge nodded, "I know. I hope so, too. I mean, wow, _another_ bird kid! Who'd've thought? I didn't. Oh, I have _soo _many questions for her! I wonder if she has, like, siblings. Or parents. Or maybe — " Iggy put his hands to his ears and said, "Nudge, _stop_. You're going to make my ears bleed!"

Nudge shut up, and Gazzy and Angel stifled giggles.

"Be nice, you guys," Max said, smiling, "We all have questions, Nudge. We just have to be patient."

Angel looked up to Max, her blue sparkling in the firelight. "Max," She said, then grinned, "I think she'll wake up soon." All eyes — not including Iggy, who just sat down, looking irritated, yet hopeful — were instantly on Alice, who stirred slightly. She didn't wake up, though.

"I can hear her thoughts again." Angel said happily, "She's dreaming about —" she was suddenly caught in a fit of giggles, then said between twinkling laughs, "I can't say. It's kind of funny though."

They all smiled at her infectious laugh — except Fang, of course, who gave a barely decipherable twitch of his lips — then eventually settled down for the night. Fang decided to take the first watch.

No one saw or heard Alice as she woke up and took off into the night — at least, that's what she thought.

...

I'm not sure when I regained consciousness. It was after the flock fell asleep, but I'm not sure _when_ that was, or how long they'd already been sleeping.

I took a look around the cave, sitting up slowly, so as not to awaken anyone. My head was spinning a bit, but other than that, I felt fine. My leg was bandaged up tight, and I didn't feel it; It was numb. Sure, it was a strange feeling, but better than the alternative. And now I knew that the Erasers' poison — or whatever it was — didn't work quite as well as they believed it would.

I could see Fang had taken watch; — smart, they knew how to survive — he was sitting against the cave wall, his eyes closed. I couldn't tell whether or not he was awake. Slowly, — ever slowly — I stood up, using the cave wall to prop myself up. I saw Angel and Nudge curled up together, along with the little black dog they kept with them. Why did they keep a dog, you ask? No idea. Personally, I would've chosen a cat.

I saw Iggy along the wall opposite of Fang, putting one person on each side of the entrance. I would have to be extremely quiet if I wanted to get past them. The Gasman was passed out along the far wall, snoring slightly. Max was a few feet away from him, towards the middle.

I made my way silently to the edge of the cavern. It was raining outside, which was why I wanted to go flying so bad. Looking over at Fang and Iggy to make sure they didn't suddenly wake up, I snapped out my fourteen-foot wings, smiling as I stretched them out. Casting one last cautionary glance at the two guys, I took a running leap into the night air, being immediately pelted by huge raindrops.

I grinned in the night air, enjoying the feel of the rain drenching. My wings shook off the raindrops as they beat powerfully, bringing me higher and higher into the air.

Having spent nearly six years with hawks, eagles, and other large birds, Rainy and I were probably the most graceful of the bird kids. With the tiniest angling of my wings, I could change speed and direction instantly. It was handy when running from hordes of Erasers or something like that.

The thought of Erasers made me shiver, and I did an automatic 360-sweep, watching my surroundings closely, memorizing the different trees. From here, I could still see the cave Fang and Max had taken me to. I could also see a dark figure dropping from the high cave, and my eyes narrowed, even though I knew it wasn't an Eraser. Turning my attention back to the trees, I thought I saw an abnormally dark streak fly through. Then the shape took on more of a form, and I saw my sister, Rainy, flying there, her white wings like a halo around her.

"Rainy," I called unbelieving, and she smiled at me. "Come on, Alice, come with me," She beckoned to me, and I just stared at her. It even _sounded_ like her. There could be no doubt, _this was her._

I flew a bit closer to her, and she turned and darted away like a shooting star. I could just stand there, — okay, not _literally_ stand — dumbfounded by her new speed.

Rainy had _never_ moved that fast before.

I was quickly losing sight of her, and I flew forward, trying to catch up. I heard someone call what sounded like my name from behind me, but I didn't turn around. I _had _to catch up to Rainy. Her giggles floated back to me five minutes later, as I completely lost sight of her. I stopped dead in my tracks, looking around frantically. Where had she gone?

"Alice," This time I was _sure_ it was my name, and I whirled around to face the newest threat. Except it wasn't a threat, it was Fang. So he _hadn't _been sleeping. He stopped in front of me, debating what to do, to say. Finally, he just looked at me, at a loss for words. I couldn't tell what he was feeling, his eyes were unreadable.

I heard another giggle, and instantly turned to the noise. I could tell Fang heard it too, he moved up next to me, scanning the area. I caught a flash of Rainy's white wings, and I looked to Fang. He saw it, too, and we both raced forward to her.

She flashed a smile back at us, "Come on, Alice. You're faster than that!" I glared at her in response, wishing desperately she would just turn around. She just turned and flew faster. _When did she get so fast?_

Still flying after her, I scanned the future, trying to see her stop and turn around. I kept scanning farther and farther, but I still didn't see anything. Sighing, I stopped flying, and Fang doubled back to me, a questioning look in his eyes.

"She's not turning around," I said sadly. "What do you mean? We just have to catch her." He said, still confused. I shook my head, "No, Fang. She's not." I sighed, and decided to spill the beans. "I…can see the future." I watched him, waiting for the ridicule, but he just nodded slowly. "What? You're not going to.. I don't know… Call me a witch or something?"

He smirked at me, "A witch?"

I looked away from his onyx eyes, "Or something.." I mumbled.

He nodded, "Or something," he repeated, then chuckled.

I heard Rainy giggle again, and I resisted the urge to go to her. I looked up to the sky, seeing the sun coming up a bit, though it was still raining. "We should probably get back." I said, and I realized how weird it must be for him to have a complete stranger pop out of nowhere that seems to know everything about him and his family.

He nodded, though I knew he wasn't confirming my unspoken statement, then angled his wings just a bit and dived toward the cave. I watched his wings beat for a second, though I don't know why exactly, then I flew after him.

We landed in the cave to have four pairs of worried eyes — Iggy didn't count, of course — locked on us, and I felt a bit uncomfortable.


End file.
